The Coffs Harbour Kart Club will host the SP Tools Australian Kart Championship for the first time this weekend, indicating a return to international motorsport competition to the area.

The Coffs Coast hosted the World Rally Championship from 2011-2018 before reverting to the Australian Rally Championship’s Coffs Coast Rally.

400 competitors have headed to the New South Wales mid-north Coast for the event, which was awarded by Karting Australia at the end of last year following a long awaited track extension at the venue under the NSW Government’s Multi-sport Community Facility Fund.

With this being the penultimate round before the Grand Final at Oakleigh Kart Club in Victoria in late August – and a new track for many competitors – stakes are high to gain Championship points.

KZ2 Gearbox Championship leader, Joshua Fife had his lead cut to just 12 points after a difficult round last time out in Emerald with defending Champion, West Australian Sam Dicker closing in via the late charging style that have become customary in the last two seasons of SP Tools Championships.

Although the premier class, it isn’t the closest Championship fight. The youngest drivers – Cadet 9 – sees the top three in the Championship covered by just five points. Currently, in the battle of the Olivers, Oliver Williamson leads over Oliver Armitt by just three points – with Jarvis Hindle a further two points back. Three drivers have won from the three events so far.

Four points separate the TaG 125 title fight with South Australian Ben Holliday heading defending Champion, Harrison Hoey by four points and in KA3 Senior, five points separate Mika Lemasurier and Josh Elliston. Remarkably, Lemasurier didn’t take part in the category in round one – he only entered round two as a confidence building opportunity – however hasn’t been off the podium since.

In the Cadet 12 category, 15 points separate Victorian Archie Bristow and Jack Larsen.

While most Championships are tight, there is also the potential that two drivers could leave Coffs Harbour as  Champion-elect with a round to go. None more so than Brad Jenner in X30. He is currently 102 points in the lead over last year’s KA2 Junior Champion, Max Walton – with 75 points up for grab as a maximum. Should he become Australian Champion again, it would be Jenner’s fifth Australian Kart Championship and third in X30 – his first since 2021.

The premier junior category, KA2 could also crown a Champion-elect, however it may be closer than it would seem on the surface. Sydney-sider Lewis Cordato heads the field by 21 points after being devastated by a mechanical issue before starting the final at Emerald. His consistency has helped him keep the competition behind, however his closest rival is Isaac McNeill. The Queenslander comes to Coffs Harbour fresh from a double victory at the Queensland State Championships.

In KA3 Junior, the form driver in the category, Jack Szewczuk sits 23 points ahead of youngster, Riley Harrison – the former at the end of his junior racing, while the latter is in his very first year after graduating from Cadets.

With 400 drivers attending from around Australia, New Zealand and Asia, it will not only be a return of international motorsport to the region, but international karting for the first time since 2001.

The nearby Raleigh International Raceway, which is used as a Super Special Stage on the Coffs Coast Rally, held the now-defunct CIK Oceania Championships with drivers coming from all over the world between 1993-1995 and 2000/2001. Oceania Champion alumni include ex-Formula 1 racer, Jarno Trulli and soon-to-retire Supercars Champion, James Courtney – who won in 1995 as a junior.

Practice for the SP Tools Australian Kart Championship begins tomorrow with qualifying Friday. The Saturday heat races and Sunday’s culmination will be covered through the www.mysportlive.tv livestream. Entry to the event in the Coffs Harbour sporting precinct at the south of the city is free to the public.